A LAW EACH DAY (Keeps Trouble Away) By Jose C. Sison (The Philippine Star) Updated January 21, 2011

Exploiting the poor and using them as an excuse to justify the adoption of some measures smacks of demagoguery. Yet this practice has been going on and seems to be accepted in every democratic society like ours because it appears harmless and tolerable. Sometimes, however, the proposed measures to be adopted or the steps to be taken are not really harmless. They may in fact subvert inviolable social institutions that serve as the very foundation of the nation.
The classic example here is the proposed bill (HB 3952) of a Congressman representing a party-list group that repeatedly wins seats in Congress by just styling itself as “pro-poor”, although the lifestyle of its member once in Congress does not reflect any empathy with the poor. Entitled “An Act Recognizing Spousal Violence, Infidelity and Abandonment as Presumptive Psychological Incapacity Constituting a Ground for Annulment of Marriage”, HB 3952 allegedly intends to “make Article 36 of the Family Code which allows the annulment of marriage on the ground of psychological incapacity accessible to the poor”. [Read more...]